The typical training room of a health and fitness club is evidence that there is a wide variety of exercise equipment currently available. In addition to traditional free weights, there are numerous devices suitable for exercising particular muscles or muscle groups. Typically, in order to achieve a full body workout, one must resort to several different machines and/or free weights. Not only is it unlikely that the average person can afford to acquire and/or house these numerous exercise machines, but it may be inconvenient to move from machine to machine in a training room, or even to gain access to a training room. Also, it may be inconvenient to adjust each machine prior to use.
Certain exercise machines, as well as free weights, may be potentially dangerous because at some stage of an exercise there is an accumulation of potential energy. If the person exercising is unable to withstand this accumulated potential energy, such as free weights being held over one's head, then the free weights are going to overwhelm the person and possibly cause serious injury. Such a possibility is particularly worrisome where a person is exercising to rehabilitate an injured muscle or associated body part, which may not be entirely reliable due to the injury.
Another problem with many of the currently available exercise machines, as well as free weights, is that they are designed to provide opposition to linear movement. Basically, a person's body operates on a rotational basis, wherein a person's limbs pivot about joints in response to flexing and extending muscles. Thus, a more natural and steady workout would involve application of force against opposition to rotational movement, rather than linear movement.
The present invention addresses the above-noted problems with existing exercise apparatus. The exercise apparatus of the present invention is capable of providing a full body workout, yet is simple in construction and affordable. It is collapsible to a storage configuration that requires relatively little space, and is readily adjustable to accommodate persons of different sizes and exercises of different types. Also, the exercise apparatus of the present invention provides a system of positive/positive resistance to rotational movement, in which nothing moves unless in response to a force applied by the person exercising.